IS 13039: External hydrant systems - provision and maintenance - Code of practice

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IS 13039 (1991) : External hydrant systems - provision and
maintenance - Code of practice [CED 22: Fire Fighting]

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IS 13039 : 1991

( Reaffirmed 2000 )

Indian Standard

EXTERNAL HYDRANT SYSTEMS -

PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE —

CODE OF PRACTICE

UDC 614 843- 1004-5 : 006-76

® BIS 1991

BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS

MANAK BHAVAN, 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG
NEW DELHI 110002

March 1991 Price Group 2

Fire Fighting Sectional Committee, GED 22

FOREWORD

This Indian Standard was adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards, after the draft finalized by the Fire
Fighting Sectional Committee had been approved by the Civil Engineering Division Council.

One of the methods for extinguishing fire in towns, cities and industrial buildings is by providing
external hydrant systems. Fire hydrant systems consist of suitable capacity reservoirs, arrangements
to impart pressure to the water, means to convey the water to various locations and suitable water outlets at
the required locations. In order that such system could function efficiently, it will be necessary to give
guidance for the provision, installation, inspection and maintenance of this system. This standard covers
minimum requirements for such system. The provisions for this system were earlier covered in IS 9668 : 1980
'Code of practice for provision and maintenance of water supplies for fire fighting' and during the
revision of IS 9668 : 1980, the requirements of that standard have been limited to the water supply and the
external hydrant system has been covered separately in this standard incorporating modifications based on
the experience gained in the use of the system. The provision of internal hydrant is covered in IS 3844 :
1989. 'Code of practice for installation and maintenance of internal hydrants and hose reel on premises
{first revision )\

M 13639 1 1991

Indian Standard

EXTERNAL HYDRANT SYSTEMS
PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE
CODE OF PRACTICE

1 SCOPE

This standard covers provisions of installation,
inspection and maintenance of external hydrant
systems.

2 REFERENCES

The Indian Standards listed in Annex A are
necessary adjuncts to this standard.

3 WATER RESERVOIRS

The water reservoirs to feed the fire hydrant
system should be provided underground, at
ground level or at higher level. The capacity and
the details of such reservoirs are given in IS
9668 : 1991.

4 PUMPS AND THEIR PRIME MOVERS

The static fire fighting pumps shall conform to
the requirements given in IS 12469 ; V3SS. Tte
capacity of pumps should be worked out based on
requirements of output and pressure for the sys-
tem. Provision shall be made for standby pumps
fed from different source of power at the rate of
50 percent of aggregate number of pumps, sub-
ject to minimum of one and maximum of two.
Where pumps are of different capacities, standby
pump should be of highest capacity.

5 MAINS

5.1 The mains should be of cast iron pipes con-
forming to IS 1536 : 1976, IS 8329 : 1977, IS
1537 : 1976 and IS 7181 : 1986 or mild steel con-
forming to IS 1239 ( Part 1 ) : 1979 or IS 3589 :
1 98 1 . The fittings of cast iron pipes should con-
form to IS 1538 ( Parts 1 to 23 ) : 1976 and of
mild steel pipes conform to IS 1239 ( Part 2 ) :
1982.

5.2 Underground mains should be laid not less
than 1 m below ground level. Where soil condi-
tions are unsatisfactory, masonry or equal sup-
ports should be provided at regular intervals.

5.3 Above ground mains should be adequately
supported at regular intervals not exceeding
3 5 m. When located near buildings, the main
should be at least 2 m away from the face of the
building.

5 A The fire hydrant mains should always be laid
in rings or crosslinked rings, that is, all the
mains should be interconnected. The size of

main should depend on the output and pressure
requirements and the total number of hydrants
to be installed on a single system. However, the
minimum size of mains should be not less than
150 mm.

5.5 Adequate number of sluice valves distributed
according to the general layout of the installation
should be provided for the purpose of isolating
any portion of the installation for purposes of
repairs, etc.

5*6 All sluice valves should conform to IS 780 ;
1984 and enclosed in properly constructed sur-
face boxes so as to allow for broken joints being
easily re-made. Valve wheels should have an
arrow head engraved or cast thereon showing
direction for turning 'open' and 'close 5 .

5.7 The mains should not be laid under build-
ings, large open storages, railway lines and roads
carrying very hcw^ \xaffic as iar as possible.
Where, however, it is inescapable to lay mains
under the above condition, they should be laid
in masonry trenches with removable covers and
sluice valves should be provided at the points of
entry and exit.

5.8 The mains should be laid according to the
provision given in IS 5822 : 1986 and IS 10221 :
1982, asapplicable.

5.9 The ground hydrant system should normally
not be extended to feed riser main in storeyed
buildings. Only in special circumstances building
not exceeding 15 m* in height, an extension may
be used, provided sufficient output and pressure
can be ensured from the system. In such cases,,
since ring mains may not be possible, terminal
main of not less than 100 mm diameter to feed
up to three hydrants and 150 mm dia to feed up
to five hydrants may be used.

5.10 Fire fighting mains should not be utilized
for any other purpose such as process use for
industrial premises.

6 FIRE HYDRANTS

6.1 Fire hydrants, namely, stand post type, con-
forming to IS 908 : 1975 and underground type
conforming to IS 909 : 1975 should be provided.
For use in industrial establishment, only stand
post type hydrants should be provided.

6.2 For cities and towns, stand post type hydrants
should be provided preferably but where these

1

IS 13039 : 1991

are likely to cause obstruction to traffic or are
Jiable to be misused by public, underground type
may be provided,

6.3 Hydrant outlet and valve for the under-
ground type hydrant and valves for the stand
post type hydrant should be located as near the
ground level as possible. The top of the outlet or
spindle of the valve should be at a depth not
exceeding 0*3 m.

6.4 Ordinary manhole covers of cast iron or re-
inforced concrete should not be used to cover
underground hydrants or the valves of the stand
post type hydrants. They should be covered only
by hinge cast iron covers as specified in IS 3950 :
1979 with letters 'FH 5 embossed on them.

6.5 Apart from painting the fire hydrants and
their covers in distinctive colours, all fire hyd-
rants should have suitable indicating plates fixed
to the nearest wall or suitable post erected for the
purpose to facilitate easy location. The indicating
plates can be made of vitreous enamelled mild
steel, cast iron, aluminium alloy or plastic. The
plates should be yellow in colour with letter ( H'
in black, preferably with fluorescent colour paints.
Where possible, size of the mains and the dis-
tance of the hydrant from the plate should be
marked on the plate.

€.6 Normally in towns/cities, the hydrants should
be provided at intervals of 100 m but this dis-
tance may be suitably increased or decreased de-
pending on the risk in the area desired to be
protected.

6.7 In case of industries of high hazard category
( Gr G-3, H and J ), the hydrants should be ins-
talled at every 30 m apart along building line
and the hydrant outlet should be single or double
hydrant with provision of landing valves. For
moderate hazard ( Gr G-2 ) where the single
hydrant is use, it should be installed at every
45 m apart. In case of any portion which has mul-
tiple hazards, the relevant portion should be
covered according to the provision given for
higher hazard. Further the pressure available at
hydraulically most remote hydrant should not be
less than 3*5 kgf/cm 3 for light (Group A to F )
and moderate hazard. In case of high hazard
( Group G-3, H and J ), the hydrant system
(Group G-2 ) should be so designed that when
half the aggregate pumping capacity is being
discharged at the hydraulically most remote
point and other half in the most vulnerable area
enroute a minimum pressure of 525 kg/cm 2 is
available at the remote point. For group classi-
fication IS 1641 : 1988 should be referred to.

6.8 The hydrants should be located according to
the attendant fire hazard so as to facilitate the
most effective service. They need not necessarily
be equidistant from each other. In industries
where they are to cover specific buildings,

advantage should be taken of convenient doors
or windows or both, to place hydrants so that
only a minimum length of hose is required to
reach the opening through which fires may be
attacked The location ot hydrant landing valves
on floors above the ground floor or a processing
unit should be close to the staircase landings.

6.9 Hydrants should be located at a distance of
not less than 2 m from the face of the buildings.
This distance may suitably be increased up to
maximum 15 m where hydrants are installed to
protect hazardous storages or processes so that
the haydrants iemain approachable and workable
even in the case of a serious fire.

6.10 All hydrants should be readily accessible to
the fire appliances and for fire fighting operations.

6.11 Hydrants located in situations where they
are likely to be damaged by vehicular traffic
should be suitably protected on all sides against
possible damage.

6.12 In cold climates where frost is likely to be
experienced, the hydrants should be fitted with
suitable means for draining off the water trapped
in the body of the hydrant between the valve
and the oudet.

6.13 No portion of a protected building should
be more than 45 m from an external hydrant,
and where this requirement cannot be met, inter-
nal hydrants/landing valves should be provided
( see IS 3844 : 1966 ).

6.14 Hydrant accessories, such as, hydrant stand
pipes, hydrant key and bar suction collecting
heads, delivery hoses, branch pipes and nozzles,
etc, should be provided in sufficient quantities
for quick operation of the hydrants.

6.15 In case of industries having their own fire
brigades, the hydrant accessories should be pro-
vided centrally on each of the fire appliance and
at the fire station. However, in the case of indus-
tries which do not have their own brigade or
where it is intended that the trained workers will
engage in interim fire fighting, the appropriate
essential accessories should be provided near each
hydrant point in hydrant boxes of adequate size.
In such cases, delivery hoses should be provided
at the scale of two, 63 mm hoses generally con-
forming to type A of IS b36 : 1988, duly bound
with instantaneous couplings in 15 m lengths
and one branch pipe duly fitted with a nozzle
(preferably universal branch conforming to IS
2871 : 1983). The key and other accessories
should be provided according to the peculiar
needs of each system.

IS 13039 t 1991

7 INSPECTIONS, CHECKS AND

MAINTENANCE

7.1 After installation the system should be capa-
ble of withstanding pressure equal to 150 percent
of the maximum working pressure for 2 h.

7.2 Each hydrant provided in the area should
be inspected as often as possible. The periodicity
for such inspections should be determined and
laid down depending on the local conditions.
However, for cities and towns, such inspections
for each hydrant should be carried out at inter-
vals not exceeding one month and for industrial
establishment once every week. The record of
all such inspections should be maintained and re-
medial action for any defects observed should be
immediately taken on priority basis.

~7.3 The following action should be taken during
^the monthly/ weekly inspections:

a) The hydrant or valve pit should be open-
ed and checked that it is clean and not
filled with any dirt or leaking water. If
the pit is full of water, it should be empti-
ed and cleaned.

b) The valve spindles should be checked and
any signs of excessive wear including lea-
kage in the gland got rectified. If a false
spindle is fitted, it should be checked that
it is in position and securely fixed.

-c) The valve should be opened slightly to see
that water is flowing freely and there is
no obstruction in the outlet. In the case
of underground hydrants, the valves should
be opened only after fixing the stand pipe
and fully closed before the stand pipe is
removed. Any blank caps or covers provi-
ded on the outlet should be replaced and
securely fixed.

d) If any washers are used in the outlet, it
should be ascertained that these are in po-
sition and in working order. Unserviceable
washers should be replaced by the inspec-
tion team immediately.

e) The brick work of the pit, the cover and its
frame and the state of the roadway or
ground, round the frame should be exami-
ned and a report made if these are dam-
aged.

f ) The pits should be thoroughly emptied of

water and cleaned before the covers are
closed.

g) The paint work of the hydrants, pit covers,
indicator plates, etc, should be checked and
removed, if necessary. Brass parts should
be cleaned and polished.

h) Any obstruction in the approach to the
appliances round the hydrants should be
removed.

j) If frost valves are fitted, those should be
checked for satisfactory working and repla-
ced where required.

k) All cut off ( isolating ) valves should be
operated and oiled, if necessary, once a
month.

m) Isolating (cut off ) valves should be thoro-
ughly overhauled annually to remove
sludge and other foreign matter collected
in valve seating.

7*4 Apart from the monthly /weekly inspections,
the performance of the hydrants should be tho-
roughly checked during the fire fighting opera-
tions and regular drills and practices. The practi-
ces should be so arranged that the maximum
number of hydrants in different areas are operat-
ed in rotation.

7.5 Testing of pressure and output in different
areas covered by the hydrant system should be
carried, at least every quarter. Hydrant mains
should be tested with the pump delivering at its
maximum pressure with all the hydrants outlet
closed and thereafter, with at least three adja-
cent hydrants opened to see that the hydrant
yield the minimum output of 1 125 litres per
minute at a minimum pressure of 5*25 kgf/cm 3 or
higher, if needed. During such tests, apart from
the senior officers of the fire authority, water
department engineers should also be associated.
The results of such tests should be recorded and
remedial action taken where pressure and output
fall short of the stipulated requirements.

7.6 Proper handling and working of the hydrants
can go a long way in their better maintenance
and satisfactory performance over long period.
The following simple rules should be followed
whenever hydrants are operated:

a) Open the hydrant valves slowly, specially,
if the hose is connected directly to a
branch.

b) Close the valve slowly to prevent water
hammer and a possible main burst.

c) After use, ensure that the hydrant valve is
properly closed and there is no leakage.

d) The valve of the hydrant should not be
operated when the pit is full of water un-
less the stand pipe or hose are first fitted.

e) The stand pipe or hose should not be dis-
connected from a hydrant in which no
water is available or from which the flow
has suddenly stopped until the valve has
been closed.

f) To avoid risk of contaminating the water

supply, every endeavour should be made
to avoid collecting water simultaneously in
a pump from a drinking water main.

IS 1303* > 1991

ANNEX A

( Clause 2 )

LIST OF REFERRED INDIAN STANDARDS

IS No. Title IS No.

636 : 1988 Non-percoiating flexible fire fight- 2871 : 1983
ing delivery hose ( third revision )

780 : 1984 Sluice valves for water works pur- 3589 : 1981
poses ( 50 to 300 mm size ) ( sixth
revision )

908 : 1975 Fire hydrant, stand post type

( second revision ) 3844 : 1966

909 : 1975 Underground fire hydrant, sluice

valve type ( second revision )

1239 Mild steel tubes, tubulars and

(Part 1): 1979 other wrought steel fittings: Part 1 39 50 : 1979

Mild steel tubes {fourth revision )
1239 Mild steel tubes, tubulars and 5822 : 1986

(Part 2) : 1982 other wrought steel pipe fittings:

Part 2 Mild steel tubulars and

other wrought steel pipe fittings 7181 : 1986

( third revision )

1536 : 1976 Centrifugally cast ( spun ) iron pre-
ssure pipes for water, gas and 8329 : 1977
sewage ( second revision )

1537:1976 Vertically cast iron pressure pipes

for water, gas and sewage {first 9668 : 1991
revision )

1538 (Parts 1 Cast iron fittings for pressure pipes
to 23) : 1976 for water, gas and sewage 10221 : 1982

1641 : 1988 Code of practice for fire safety of
buildings (general): General prin-
ciples of fire grading and classi- 12469 : 1988
fixation {first revision )

TitU

Branch pipe, universal for fire
fighting purposes ( first revision )

Electrically welded steel pipes for
water, gas and sewage 150 to
2 COO mm nominal size ) {first
revision )

Code of practice for installation
and maintenance of internal hyd-
rants and hose-reel on premises

{first revision )

Surface boxes for sluice valves
{first revision )

Code of practice for laying of wel-
ded steel pipes for water supply

{first revision )

Horizontally cast iron double flan-
ged pipes for water, gas and sew-
age {first revision )
Centrifugally cast ( spun ) ductile
iron pressure pipes for water, gas
and sewage ( first revision )

Code of practice for provision and
maintenance of water supplies for
fire fighting ( first revision )

Code of practice for coating and
wrapping of underground mild
steel pipelines

Pumps for fire fighting applica-
tions

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covered by an Indian Standard conveys the assurance that they have been produced to comply
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Revision of Indian Standards

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issued from time to time. Users of Indian Standards should ascertain that they are in possession of the
latest amendments or edition. Comments on this Indian* Standard may be sent to BIS giving the
following reference:

Doc : No. GED 22 ( 4794 )

Amendments Issued Since Publication

Amend No.

Date of Issue

Text Affected

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